Pai gow poker is a popular and well-known poker game that is derived from a Chinese domino game. Traditional pai gow poker is played with a standard 53-card deck with a joker that serves as a wild card and is subject to various rules regarding how the wild card can be played. The rules and method play of traditional pai gow poker are discussed in greater detail in the detailed description below.
While traditional pai gow poker is well received and often played within casinos, it suffers from several drawbacks. One such drawback is that the dealer must collect a commission, which is usually 5% of the player's wager.
As can be appreciated, collecting a 5% commission on a wager is mathematically complex. As a result, the calculation and collection of the commission is time consuming for the dealer, which, in turn, reduces the number of hands played per hour. Slow game play reduces player interest and reduces game profitability for the casino.
One proposed solution has been to eliminate the commission without other game changes, but this solution can alter the game odds and casino hold to make it unprofitable for the casino.
Another proposed solution is a “modified” pai gow poker game wherein the commission is not collected but, in the event the dealer is dealt exactly a queen high in the five-card hand, all wagers are declared a “push.” While this solution eliminates the complexities of collecting a commission, it suffers from other drawbacks. First, an exact queen high dealer hand is not a common occurrence during game play, and, therefore, it does little to offset the commissionless play. In addition, players perceive this variation as unfair because an exact queen high hand to the dealer is considered a bad dealer hand and, therefore, good for the player. As such, the players usually want to play the hand since the player has good odds of beating the dealer and receiving a payout. However, just the opposite occurs because this pai gow variation ends the hand as a push and the players get nothing. As can be appreciated, the players perceive that their chance of winning the hand and a payout were taken away.
Another game having commission-free play is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,855, titled “Commission-Free Pai Gow.” In this game, however, tiles are utilized, not cards. In this game, a player can be rewarded before game play based on the hands the player presents. However, because this player reward before game play is based on the player hands, confusion and slow play can result. For example, if the player's win depends on how the player arranges his hands, the player will more carefully and more slowly present his hand, which, in turn, slows game play. When multiplied over six players at a table, the delay and player confusion can be significant. In addition, this prior art game utilizes tiles, which is a disadvantage for a casino.
As a result, there continues to exist drawbacks in the prior art, and the method and apparatus for commissionless pai gow game play presented below overcomes these drawbacks.